This week I had two very different encounters with two different people and they both really made me think about how we interact with others and how much it can impact a person.
The first was an encounter with someone I’ve known for years but hadn’t seen in a long time. There was no how are you, how’s life kind of questions. I was holding my granddaughter and the person asked, “who is this?” I replied with who she was. The next question was, “And are you done having kids?”.
If you need a lesson in what to ask a woman you barely have a relationship with, here it is.
I was recounting this story to my husband and our 19 year old son. When I got to that question that was asked of me, my 19 year old right away interjected, “Oh no, you don’t ask a lady that!”
There’s your lesson.
The second encounter was with someone I fairly regularly spend time with. Our conversation surrounded school this upcoming year for a while and I was telling her about a dilemma I have with what to do in our schedule. We have been doing something for years that has been fine and suddenly the schedule is changing and it’s felt like a weight on me all summer. I was telling her this and she replied, “I think you know what God is telling you to do. You just have to obey.” She also reminded me why we home school, why we have our kids at home and aren’t filling our plates with every good thing.
I left one of these encounters feeling interrogated and almost a bit exposed in not a good way. There was prying but not encouragement. There was morbid curiosity but not a genuine desire for friendship.
I left the other encounter with a feeling of a weight having been lifted off, of my eyes having been turned to Jesus, and of a true friend who spoke into my life when I needed to hear it.
Proverbs 27:17 says, Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Are you a friend who sharpens your friends? Do you turn their eyes to Jesus and his Word? Do you uplift and encourage but also speak the truth in love when your friend needs to hear it?
Being a good friend doesn’t mean patting your friend’s ego and always telling them they are doing a great job. It also doesn’t mean always judging what they are doing. If we are going to be godly friends, we need to be willing to speak the truth so our friends get closer to the Lord and His will for their lives AND we need to be willing to hear the truth from a friend and change our path when needed.
I’m so thankful for godly friends in my life. And, honestly, I’m thankful for those people who don’t encourage or uplift as well because they teach me how not to be a friend to others!
This was the sky this morning on my run. I just kept feeling like the Lord was saying, Good morning, I love you. Then he reminded me of the good, godly friends I have in my life that show me his love everyday.
Thank you, Jesus, for iron friends!
Desired Haven Farm 